Can you explain Parental Responsibility?

Parental Responsibility (PR) means all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which, by law, a parent of a child has, in relation to the child and his property.

When a child is born, the mother automatically has parental responsibility. If the parents are married, both parents automatically have parental responsibility.

If a child is born to unmarried parents and the birth is registered after 1st December 2003 with both parents’ details, this also gives the father parental responsibility.

Otherwise parental responsibility can be obtained by way of a parental responsibility agreement entered into amicably by both parents or a parental responsibility order made by the court.